


If This Is The End

by ImpulseisLost



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Blind Character, How Do I Tag, Hyunjin and Jeongin aren't from earth, Im Jaebum | JB is here, Implied Kidnapping, Uh so, felix isnt actually here yet, ill update the tags as i go along, kinda scifi i guess, like he's pretty fucking blantently been kidnapping, my friend asked if he was okay, no probably not, they're aliens, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 17:21:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18265928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpulseisLost/pseuds/ImpulseisLost
Summary: [Approximately 364 days, 7 hours and 27 minutes since Lee Felix’s disappearance.]





	1. Twilight

There was a quiet around him. The sort that only rested after a battle. Where all was still and the only sounds came from the dead underfoot or the dying. Never the living.

He'd witnessed this scene again and again. An empty field where he had stood so many times, a cold dread resting in his stomach as he searched for the bodies of people he had known. He didn't expect his team to be among them, yet. His boys were among the top of their game.

But Chan still remembered Jaebum's screams after Youngjae disappeared. Screams that still haunted his dreams. He still remembered the way BamBam, as he so chose to be called though gods knew why, held back his leader. The way that the tortured screams of the elder had echoed around them.

Even Felix hadn't slept well after that episode.

He sighed, as he picked his way across the bodies, nodding at one of Jaebum's team (Jackson he thought), as he passed. They were all doing the same ritual as him. Checking for their fallen and loved ones.

_ "Hyung." _ A voice cut through his thoughts, crackling over his line, distracting him from his search as he kicked the body of some red-headed male over. Relief filled Chan's veins as the face matched none of the pictures currently shown in his database.

_ "Hyung."  _ The boy called him again, bringing him back to the present.

"Yes?" He kicked another body, blonde this time. Not quite the same shade, but still enough to make him check.

_ "Hyung, you need to get back to camp now."  _ Camp. The one place in the world Chan wanted to be less than the bunkers.

_ "He's right. We need you." _ Another voice cut in, and the man found himself sighing as he picked his way back across the carnage. He supposed if he had found no bodies of any others yet, then there was a slim chance they were there. He needed a change from the carnage of the previous battle anyway.

He sighed, kicking up a weapon as he passed it and eyed it. Nothing he recognised.  _ He sounded frantic, like there was something wrong, _ Chan noted to himself as he replayed the data of the call through one of his ear pieces.  _ Hyung, you need to get to camp now, he never says I have to do anything, like that. _

He bit his lip, worrying it as he moved. The tone the younger had used worried him for no good reason. It was then it hit him, Jeongin was panicking and that worried him more.

 

 

The ten minute run back to base was nerve wracking. He'd abandoned the caution and grace he normally moved with, sprinting until he was there. With the other... Seven? The man quickly counted, reaching his arms for Jeongin, who buried himself into the elder's chest as soon as he could.

The missing member of their group faded from his mind briefly as he took in the shaking boy in his arms. Then at Woojin, who's eyes were downcast, as if he were hiding something. Chan's eyes flicked around the assorted boys in front of him. Taking a roll call in a way.

_ Woojin, Jeongin, Changbin, Hyunjin, Seungmin, Minho, Jisung... Where's Felix? _ Chan's eyes widened, and he glanced at Woojin with a question. The elder fidgeted, avoiding his gaze.

"Where's Felix?" He asked quietly, to the entire group. He felt Jeongin's breath shudder, and saw Woojin freeze. He waited, a full minute according to his database, before he continued.

"Well? Is anyone going to tell me where he is?" Chan’s voice was quiet as he quickly searched for Felix's contact on his database, and tried to connect a line. He frowned sharply when it failed to connect. He glanced at Woojin again, as he quickly looked down. Frustration began to prickle at him, and he hissed in annoyance.

Jeongin flinched, pulling away and diving into Woojin's arms to hide. The latter dropped his weapon, causing it to flicker on and off once with a loud noise, as he wrapped his arms around the youngest in the group.

"That's… That's the problem." He muttered, looking anywhere but Chan, hell even twisting to look at the fake buildings behind them. He could see the pale blue of the ones they had set up a few nights ago from back here, next to they green of Jaebum's team. Woojin sighed, tapping Jeongin on the shoulder and leaning down to whisper to him.

_ "You have to show him, Jeonginnie."  _ He murmured to him quietly, so that Chan wouldn't hear. He felt the boy tense, more than saw it, a quiet sob escaping him.

_ "Hyung, why me?" _

_ "Because you were the one who found it, and he was your responsibility today."  _ Jeongin whimpered again, pushing himself away from Woojin and clearing his throat.

"Um, hyung," he started in a quiet voice, looking away from Chan before looking up at him and continuing in a slightly stronger tone, "Channie hyung."

Chan raised an eyebrow, lowering his hand from where it'd been tapping at a screen only he could see. Jeongin swallowed sharply, reaching out a hand for Woojin. The elder’s fingers threaded through his, squeezing his hand gently for support.

"Felix, is uh... Felix is gone." His voice wobbled, as he watched Chan narrowing his eyes at the youngest in his team.

"This isn't a funny joke, Jeongin, I need you to seriously tell me where he is." The boy flinched, as Chan said this, letting himself be swallowed back up into Woojin's warm embrace.

"I-I... I'm not... I'm not joking, hyung. Felix is gone. H-he left his weapon out in the... In the field and, um..." He trailed off, sending a picture of the weapon lying on the dirty ground to Chan. They all knew what it looked like.

Felix had gotten the damned thing coloured a pale blue when it was made, against protocol, and the power lines that normally glowed a soft purple under the boys touch were dull. Chan's eyebrows furrowed, and he held out his hand, motioning for the weapon to be handed to him in proper. 

Jeongin's breath hitched, and he reached behind him to draw the capsule out, shaking as he passed it to the leader. The normally warm grip was cold, and didn't light up or activate when Chan touched the hollow. He nodded slowly.

"Alright Lix, you can come out now. This isn't funny." He called in English, turning in a slow circle. 

"hyung, with all due respect, in what world would Felix ever leave his weapon behind like that?" Chan's head jerked to face Jisung, the blind boy leaning on Changbin heavily, his breath coming out harshly. He tilted his head, so the dulled colour of his eyes drifted to meet Chan's, before wincing and clenching them tightly shut.

"Felix was, ecstatic, when he got that made. What makes you think, he would ever let that leave his side?" He slumped, slipping in Changbin’s grasp, before pulling his head back up to stare at the elder. Chan winced at the boy's appearance. Blood covered, and trembling, Jisung looked like he was moments away from collapsing. Which, considering the extensive use of his mods, he most likely was.

"Really think about it hyung." Chan tore his eyes away to look back down at the pale blue instrument in his hand. The man stared at it, taking in the worn cylinder shape before cursing.

"Shit." He muttered, glancing around the group as a whole, eyebrows furrowing again as he passed the device back to Jeongin.

"Who was supposed to be with him today? Why was Felix by himself?" He asked quietly, examining carefully. His eyes caught onto the way Jeongin seemed to sink into himself, how his gaze fluttered anywhere but Chan. He waited a moment longer, before the younger hesitantly stepped forwards, his hands fidgeting together.

"Me, hyung. We, um... got separated half way through, I wasn't able to, um… Find him again after. Sorry." He mumbled, before diving back into Woojin's arms to hide. There was a moment of silence, where the whole group watched Chan with unease, as the man took a deep breath and nodded.

"You two were at the perimeter breach then?" At a nod from the younger boy, Chan just rubbed his face, letting out a slow breath.

"Right then. You all get back to camp. Changbin, make sure you get Jisung to his bed. He looks like he's about to collapse." He ordered quickly, watching as Jisung promptly started whining at him and as Seungmin reached over for Hyunjin, pulling the taller boy to his feet. 

 

 

The boy stared down at the ground as they walked through the gap between more tightly compacted homes, clenching and unclenching his fists. His companion watched, in quiet remorse. Hyunjin would talk in his own time, he was always like that, and Minho didn't want to force him.

"I could've been there." The quiet sounds of the other had Minho alert, walking faster to catch up with the other, his head tilted slightly to the side. He took a moment to sort out his words before he replied.

"What?"

"I could have been there with Felix. I should've known Jeongin was still recovering, fuck, I helped him bandage his wounds this morning," Hyunjin turned to face him, eyes wider than normal, "I knew and I still let him go, with Felix."

"And if it hadn't been Felix who'd vanished, it'd probably would've been Jeongin. Are you really going to condemn him, the youngest of our unit, because you want to save a foreigner? News flash, that's pretty shitty of you, Hyunjin." Minho hadn't meant for it to come out so harsh, or as pained as it did, but the words stopped the other dancer. He looked like he wanted to raise a hand and slap him. 

"Well at least we'd know that if it was Jeongin, he would be fine. He doesn't need to be paired up like Felix does. Or like you and Jisung. Honestly, it's a wonder any of you three made it out of the training barracks in the first place," He sounded bitter, "Hell,  _ you _ probably only got moved out because you're a human poster boy for our unit."

Minho flinched, the colour leaving his face. That had stung a bit. Hyunjin of all people knew how hard he had worked to get this far. The long, sleepless nights he'd had where he'd gone over a single module over and over, on repeat until he could repeat it backwards to you in his sleep. Hyunjin seemed to realised what he’d said a moment later, because his eyes widened and he took a step towards the elder.

"Hyung, I--"

"Don't. Just, don't." Minho cut him off, stepping back out of his reach. He swallowed, taking a deep breath.

"Don't, don't say anything. You know, exactly what the fuck you said. And maybe you weren't thinking, but you  _ fucking need to _ . Do you know, how hard, I worked to get to this point. How hard, Jisung worked to get to where he is? How hard, Felix worked?" He was shaking, he knew he needed to stop. Stop now.

"You know what? This wouldn't have even been a problem if you hadn't made assumptions about what I thought about Jeongin. This whole thing could've been avoided if you'd kept your damned mouth shut!" Hyunjin snapped back, turning on his heel and stalking off through the homes.

Minho stood there, stunned for a moment before he huffed and turned away, to start heading the other way. To his surprise, a darker haired young man stood there, leaning on the pale lavender of the wall next to him. Jisung tilted his head, staring way too far off to be looking at him, but Minho knew he was listening, all the same.

"That could've been handled better by both of you. Really." He stated, in a dry voice. Minho swallowed, eyes flicking anywhere but the younger. There was a tense moment before Jisung turned away.

"How much of that did you hear?" Minho asked cautiously, as he watched the boy rest his hand on the structure next to him, and use it to lead his way back to their area with a practiced manner.

"I heard enough. You two weren't exactly the quietest." He winced at the reply, quickly moving to follow the boy back, "It's  _ fun  _ to see you two arguing over some  _ stupid shit _ like Felix going missing."

The sarcasm was so dense Minho could practically cut it. Another moment passed and he started following Jisung back, quickly catching up to the boy and offering him an arm to lean on. Jisung clearly hesitated, before leaning his weight fully on the elder, with a barely muffled whimper.

"I know all of us hate it, but... We have to be strong. Fighting with Hyunjin isn’t being strong." He whispered, brushing dark hair off his face. He didn't need to see past it, he just disliked the feeling of it on his face. Or that's what he said anyway. Minho sighed, holding the boy up as they walked.

"You're supposed to be asleep you know. Chan hyung would have a fit if he saw you here now." He whispered instead of replying to the younger. Jisung shrugged once, shoulders rising and falling.

"Couldn't sleep, mess tents over there somewhere. I  _ was  _ gonna go get something to eat,  _ but... _ " Minho winced again, before hesitantly wrapping his other arm around the other boy to hug him.

"Sorry." Jisung shrugged again.

 

 

Seungmin let his head fall back and hit the wall behind him with a sharp yelp, as Woojin cleaned his wound with quick, gentle movements. Beside him, Changbin sat reading one of the elder's books, engrossed in the writing on the page. He seemed almost at peace, an eyebrow quirked as his eyes scanned over the cream page, but one could tell by the subtle way he was glaring at the page that something was up.

"Hanging in there? Seungmin?" Woojin dragged the youngest back to reality, prompting a nod from the boy, "Good. I'm going to run some pain tests. Tell me if it gets above a seven." Seungmin nodded again, and waited as Woojin attached the machine’s wires before he started speaking in a quiet tone.

"Six, six, Seven, six." He stated, as the machine went through, testing his wound and the surrounding area with gentle pressure and faint beeps. Woojin nodded once at a loud beep, detaching him with quick, efficient movements.

"Good." He noted as he started bandaging Seungmin's side, turning his attention to Changbin, "Have you slept yet Changbin? You've been running around for everyone all day today. Don't lie to me, I saw you physically carry Jisung." Changbin looked up from his book, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm still probably going to get more sleep than Chan hyung will in the next twenty four hours, and you're asking me?" He questioned, glancing back down at the book and flipping the page.

"You know, it's not a competi--" Seungmin started, to get cut off by Changbin.

"I'm not saying it is. I'm merely stating a fact. Chan and Felix came from the same sector on earth. With Felix missing, Chan's going to lose more sleep than he already is. That's how it was in our original team, it's how it'll be now." He looked up at Seungmin, staring at him blankly.

The younger's eyes widened. All of them had heard rumours of what had happened, things like that happened in a company, but they really heard any of them speak about their original team, before Chan had become leader of his own.

“Whatever, I’ll go crash if you want me to that badly.” He finished, closing the book and placing it to the side, “It’ll do me some good anyway. I can take Seungmin with me if you’re done with him, hyung. You probably need to sleep as well, no?” The boy rose in a fluid motion and dusted his jeans off. Woojin nodded, motioning for Seungmin to pull his shirt down.

“Ah, I wanted to go to the mess hall.” Seungmin mumbled, tugging his shirt down over the bandage and standing up with a wince. 

“That’s gonna hurt for a few more days, Seungmin. Be careful with that.” Woojin commented, from where he was packing up the wires, “I can go get you something later, anyway. You and Changbin should both sleep. That’s not up for negotiation.”

Changbin nodded, motioning to Seungmin for him to follow as he left the building into the rapidly darkening night sky. The elder visibly relaxed the moment the pair were outside.

“Are you actually tired at all hyung?” Seungmin asked after a moment of walking, as he watched the elder quietly. His hair was pushed off of his face and the glare that he’d become known around base for was shown, but Seungmin knew the moment they were alone, it’d come down.

“No. I left to get hyung off my back. Probably wants to sleep himself if I’m being frank.” Seungmin nodded, watching Changbin a little longer.

“Are we gonna find him?” He asked, voice trembling as he looked down and away. A sense of hollowness was beginning to fill his chest, crushing him and making him want to curl up. More than anything did he just want to give the loud Australian a hug. To find him.

He heard Changbin sigh, before a hand patted his arm in an awkward motion.

“We’ll find him, I promise.” He dropped his arm back to his side soon after, the hand disappearing into his pocket, “It’s not like it’s the first time one of our team has gotten lost on the field anyway.”

“Jisung doesn’t count, hyung.” Changbin chuckled gently at the remark.

“We’ve never actually lost Jisung, luckily. Channie hyung got lost for a couple hours once though.” Seungmin giggled gently, as Changbin led them through the maze of artificial buildings, “Gave all of us a kick. I think, Kuni--The sector 13 guy in Jaebum sunbaemin’s team, BamBam, that’s his name. BamBam tried to take a shot at me because of it.”

Seungmin nodded with a light hum, thinking to himself. 

“How’d he get lost?” Changbin snorted, running his fingers along the weapon strapped to his thigh, feeling the reassuring shape of it under them.

“He saw a flower, native to the planet --Chaeryeong’s planet I think. Our squad walked off without him, not even realising we’d lost a man. Jisung found him about four, five hours later just examining plants.” He looked at Seungmin, with an expression just asking if he believed this at all.

“I can imagine Felix doing something similar, actually.” The younger mumbled thoughtfully, after a moment of just contemplating the story

“It’s why I think we should give him a day before we report him missing. But, protocol says you have to do it as soon as it’s noticed.”

“Shitty.” Seungmin mumbled quietly, along with a nod from Changbin.

“Yeah, well… After what happened with Youngjae..” He trailed off. Which was fine, they didn’t talk about what had happened to the man anyway. Seungmin nodded, reaching out to hold onto Changbin for support. He didn’t think this team could handle a repeat of Youngjae.

Jaebum’s team barely had. And they’d been together for years before it’d happened, much longer than they had.

“No one’s going to let Youngjae repeat. Not with Felix, not with anyone.” Seungmin said, quietly and firmly. Changbin sighed, nodding grimly. The younger relaxed, stretching his arms over his head with a quiet sigh. He wondered if he could convince Changbin to let him go to the mess hall before it closed…

“There’s a good chance Felix actually did just see a flower mid battle, actually.” Changbin broke the comfortable silence that had filled the lull in the conversation, drawing Seungmin’s attention from his thoughts and quirking his lips. Yeah, he probably could convince the elder.

 

 

Walking up to the building his boss used as the strategy room was always going to intimidate him (the building was imposing afterall, designed to defend the office workers in the fleet). And that was before he had to report a missing person. Chan didn’t know if this day could get any worse honestly.

Actually, he didn’t want to test that. That’s what he had thought before Jisung’s accident and the whole mess that came after. He shook his head. 

_ Report Felix missing first, then worry about the rest _ , He told himself sharply, flashing his identification at the datapad on the door. It slid open with a hiss, giving Chan a brief moment to compose himself before strolling in.

Inside, a young man was calmly talking to one of the few people in the room, a young woman with a lime stripe down the shoulder of her uniform, one of the people he had to speak to. Chan sighed, glancing around for another of the lime stripped workers, before a tap on the shoulder drew his attention.

“It’s odd to see you in here, Bang Chan. You avoid this building like the plague, no?” He turned his head, before dipping into a slight bow upon noting who the speaker was.

“Jaebum hyung.” He greeted after a moment, before looking away. The elder man smiled warmly, casting a worried glance over him once Chan had stopped looking.

“Why are you here?” Jaebum asked softly. Chan tensed, his eyes flicking to the ground.

“That’s…” He hesitated, memories of screams filling his head, and he debated telling the truth. After all, he didn’t know how sensitive the topic he had in mind was for Jaebum. But the elder had been waiting for approximately thirty seconds now, and he was too tired to think up a convincing lie right this moment.

“Felix went missing during the perimeter breach, and I can’t get a line through to him.” He slowly said, watching as Jaebum’s expression transitioned from pure curiosity, to mild shock. Another moment passed before that transitioned into worry and horror.

“You’re joking.” He whispered, face drained of colour. Chan knew he should have lied to the elder.

“I really wish I was. Jeongin was paired with him today but they got separated during the breach, and none of us can contact him.” He murmured quietly, looking anywhere but Jaebum at this point. Those floor patterns were starting to look rather interesting.

“I… I’ll let you report that, then. Maybe send BamBam your way later as well, lords know you’ll need him.” Chan looked back up, into the worrying eyes of the man, and smiled weakly.

“Don’t wake him up for it, if he’s asleep. That’s all I ask.” Jaebum smiled at him, nodding quickly.

“I’ll see what I can do.” He agreed quietly, before slipping out of the way, “I’ll leave you to it then.” He nodded before leaving Chan's field of view. He was grateful for that, looking for the nearest person with a lime stripe. He relaxed as one waved him over.

“Evening Captain. What can I do for you?” The woman asked as he jogged over, her hands resting on the datapad before her. Chan checked his database for Felix quickly.

“I'm here to make a report?” The woman nodded, directing him to another screen. Made sense, you couldn't use personal screens for everything, he noted to himself as he passed over to it. He tapped the screen gently, pausing before sighing to himself.

“God, which name did he even use?” Chan tapped the screen again, buttons leading him from mission report, to missing person report . He hesitated, before tapping in ‘Lee Felix’. 

_ Did he even register with Felix? _ He thought, groaning as the results turned up negative. And typed in the other’s Korean name with a sigh.

_ Of course he used Yongbok. Couldn’t use his English name to sign up for this could he? _ He sighed, tapping Felix’s name as the screen lit up with his face. Chan quickly tapped  in how long Felix had been missing for and rubbed his face. It’d be so much easier to write this on actual paper, he decided. 

The man sighed again, as he let himself relax slightly, sending the report in and quickly turned to leave. He bowed in the direction of the woman who’d helped him as he left the building, taking a deep breath and shaking off unease, vaguely wondering how much sleep he’d get that night. Probably not a lot if he were to be frank about it.

“You look stressed.” A voice whispered, before Jeongin was beside him and hugging him. It comforted Chan, as the pair walked back to their camp site.

“I am, second night on a new world and Felix has gone and gotten himself lost and I found out he's used  _ Yongbok _ to sign up for this goddamn army.” Jeongin hummed in response, clinging tighter to the man with a frown. A moment of quiet passed the two of them before he even tried replying.

“I thought he hated that name.” 

“Well obviously not enough to sign up as Lee, fucking, Felix.” The younger nodded, as Chan snapped angrily at the memory.

“Sounds rough. Have you eaten since we got back, like at all?” Chan paused, before shaking his head and looking over at Jeongin.

“No, not yet.” He mumbled, quietly ducking his head. Jeongin giggled, slipping out of the hug and intertwining his fingers with the elders.

“Good, I'm hungry so we're getting food now. I wanna see if they've got chicken in the mess hall tonight.” The elder chuckled, pulling the boy close with a nod. 

“We'll see, if not we can bother hyung for help.”

 

 

They were all sitting in a circle when the news came, in the form of a beep from Chan’s screen. It had been a week since Felix had vanish, during which they’d been forced to sit in standby as the searches and fights went on. So what’d Chan do? He’d set up a film for the group. Thankfully, for Jisung’s ears, he’d made sure that Minho and Hyunjin were separated.

Jisung really didn’t know how much more of their bickering he could deal with honestly. And to be real, he’d probably shoot both of them if he could see or access his weapon right then if they so much as started up again. He was sick of it.

So when the beep does echo around the room, the first thing Jisung does is lean over Minho and Woojin’s laps to poke at who he thought was Chan, though it could be Seungmin from the feel of the cloth (A cotton t shirt. He vaguely recalled that only those two were wearing cotton t shirts that day). He was lucky when it really was Chan.

“Channie hyung~” The boy whined, poking the elder a few more times, “Channie  hyung, what was that~” He felt a slight tap on his ankle, from Minho he thought, before he was pulled back into a normal sitting position with another whine.

“Let the man read it first, ‘Sung, god.” Jisung smiled slightly, sitting up straighter and turning his head to a random direction, (Jeongin wasn’t sure he was comfortable with Jisung’s eyes looking at him so early in the morning, not after the last time he’d done that.) and humming. He heard Chan laugh from where he was sitting.

“Alright, alright. I’m checking it.” There was a quiet lull in the room, one that hadn’t been there for a couple days, as Chan read the notification. Jisung pouted, reaching his hands over to his left and playing with the hem of Jeongin’s jacket. Chan took a breath, and Jisung heard his hair rustling as the elder presumably ran his fingers through it, before he spoke.

“There’s good news, ish, and bad news.” Besides him, he felt Jeongin tense, the younger suddenly more alert. “They found Felix’s gear, no Felix. He’s just vanished into thin air apparently.” He heard a couple people murmur, before Changbin coughed.

“It doesn’t seem like Felix to do that.” He noted quietly. Chan nodded.

“You’re right. So, my suspicion is he’s probably been captured somewhere.” Jisung felt Jeongin (Was it though? He didn’t want to turn his mods on to check) tense up beside him, and went to pet his arm in reasurance.

“So, that’s the bad news?” He shouldn’t have to have asked, but he did anyway. Chan hummed, in the quiet assenting way he did.

“Good, ish, news is they’re rotating us back to Earth. Which means that you two,” He felt Jeongin shift again, and Jisung knew he was referring to Hyunjin and Jeongin now, “Can stop by your homes if you want on the way.”

There was a nervous chuckle, and he knew that about then Hyunjin would be running his hands through his hair in a slight panic. Going home would mean his hair would need to be redyed. He was self conscious enough about his eyes, without people seeing how ashen his hair was every time he returned from his birth planet. Jisung flickered on his mods (He couldn’t see where the fuck Hyunjin was), crawling over to Hyunjin and leaning himself against the taller before turning them off.

“You don’t have to Jinnie.” Hyunjin hummed in appreciation. Slim fingers began to brush through the Jisung’s hair in response, and he heard someone crack a joint.

“If, you’re rotating us home, when are you gonna be picking us back up?”That would be Jeongin, and Hyunjin put in his piece with a quiet hum. There was a pause, during which Jisung could only imagine what was happening.

“As soon as you want. The offer is just there in case you want to. Think of it as, a break before we have to relearn a bunch of modules. At least until we find Felix.” The fingers in Jisung’s hair paused, before starting to move again.

“In that case, I’d like to visit my mother and father.” He heard another pleased sound, this one from Chan.

“Lovely, I’ll let the boss know for you. Jeongin? Are you going to visit your’s?”  Jisung sat up, dragging himself closer to Hyunjin to steal body warmth.

“I don’t think I could face my dad after letting Felix get lost.” There was another quiet hum from Chan.

“Fair enough. Still, at least drop in for a bit while we pass.” Jeongin groaned in response. 

“Ya! Take me with you Jeonginnie~” Jisung whined, sitting up to pat in the younger’s direction (He pat Changbin’s knee). Jeongin paused, before mumbling out a quiet ‘why’

“Because my parents are probably off planet again.” Chan sighed, as Hyunjin’s arms wrapped around Jisung.

“You know you probably have more tests, right Jisung?” He groaned, twisting to bury his face into Hyunjin’s shirt, the buttons pressing uncomfortably against his face.

“I don’t want to though. They’re just going to be trying to find a way to make it less exhausting for me, and then I’m going to collapse because nothing they do works.” He heard yet another sigh, before the sound of someone moving over reached him and Chan’s arms wrapped around him.

JIsung huffed, leaning into the touch. And just like that, his good mood was gone.  _ Good Dammit Felix where are you? _


	2. Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Am I clear?” The freckled boy called out to them again.

_Earth, sector 9_ _  
_ _Approximately 364 days, 7 hours and 27 minutes since Lee Felix’s disappearance._

 

Jeongin’s eyes fluttered open, the lights in his small room suddenly flashing from a low golden glow to a bright white, waking him up quickly and without much fanfare. He paused, resting in his bed for a moment longer before pushing himself out with a barely muffled hiss. The room was quiet, the rooms either side of him probably empty to be honest, as he staggered into his cleaning facilities to shower. 

He frowned, reviewing where the other members would be.

Chan was probably already working. Woojin was probably patching up Jisung right about now, who’d probably injured himself again. Hyunjin would be training. Minho would be dancing, probably (Gods knew why). Changbin would either be waking up, like him, or with Jisung or Chan. That would leave Seungmin. 

He nodded to himself as he finished up. He could live talking to Seungmin, yeah. He just...

He didn’t particularly want to, didn’t want to bother anyone else. If Felix had still been there… Jeongin didn’t want to think about that. About the elder brother he had lost.

About how they still hadn’t found him. 

How they likely weren’t going to find him.

Jeongin rubbed his eyes, pulling a random shirt from his clothes rack and yanking it over his head with a slight tearing sound. Oh yeah, he forgot Earthian shirts weren’t as strong as the ones back home. Just what he needed to add to his already sour mood.

All he really wanted right now was to cry.

Felix was gone, probably dead if the reports were anything to go by, killed on that _fucking_ planet and dragged away to be some creatures dinner. Minho and Hyunjin were always arguing with each other, getting in each other’s faces about the smallest things even if it didn’t warrant the drama.

Chan was vacant, just, never around anymore. Woojin barely even got him to eat at times. Jisung was spending all his time with the scientists, with only Changbin to support him. Repeating those same stupid tests over and over like the results would be any different.

God, even Seungmin wasn’t the same anymore.

The family he’d joined over a year ago no longer felt like a family. It was cold, broken. Like the words, _Nine or None_ , jokingly uttered by Felix over a year ago, had become law rather than an uplifting motto. Like none of them could function properly without him. It really looked that way sometimes.

Jeongin laced his boots up before he left his room.

The moment he left the room, the sounds of an argument reached him, escalated more than what was usual for the time of the morning. Hyunjin was screaming his head off today apparently. Jeongin didn’t bother going to step between Minho and Hyunjin. He wouldn’t get heard over the argument, not like Changbin would. Not like literally anyone else would.

Instead, he turned away, focusing on leaving the dorm quietly and heading the roundabout way to the mess hall. 

A year ago, someone would’ve been waiting nearby to keep him company, to make sure that he wasn’t eating by himself. The last time that had happened had been his birthday. Where even Minho and Hyunjin had put aside their issues just to make sure that the youngest of them had been happy.

But that had been a  while ago. It was almost September now, over six months later.

His boots scuffed against the ground as he walked. He could hear the sounds of laughter as he passed by the dorms of Sungjin’s and Jaebum’s teams, an empty pit filling his chest as he remembered what he’d lost once again that morning. The boy swallowed harshly, hurrying his footsteps and disappearing around a corner just as a door opened behind him. He didn’t want to think about it.

Doors slid open before him as he paced his way into the mess hall, empty save for two of the two girls from Yeji’s team. He left them alone, after all, he still wasn’t sure that Jisu actually liked him.

It made sense, they’d been sent out just after the collapse of his team. He knew it looked like they were just the replacements.

Even so, he couldn’t help but be jealous of the way the two girls laugh in easy companionship.  Couldn’t help but feel jealous in the way that all the other teams in the compound seem to forget about their team sometimes. Or just stare with pity in their eyes as he passed.

They didn’t do front line stuff anymore, after all.

Jeongin shook the thought away, picking up a tray and slowly picking pieces of food onto it. An apple? He didn’t feel like one today. The collection part of the process took him five minutes, excluding the amount of time he spent just staring blankly at a zip-locked back of dried fruits. By the time he was done, Jeongin was ready to leave again.

He dropped his tray onto a table, away from everyone else, away from his group's old table. Just, by himself, gazing at the food quietly. Accepting. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, Seungmin or Chan would come over to sit with him. He quickly gave up on that idea.

Five minutes passed as he picked at his food in silence. The sounds of the mess hall had only gotten louder as more and more men and women on-site came for their breakfast. The rest of his squad remained absent, leaving him alone to deal with the noise.

Their old table sat empty still and after a moment’s hesitation, Jeongin switched tables to where he used to sit with his hyungs. A chattering started up next to him almost immediately (the noise coming from Jisu and Ryujin) and he tensed up. This had been a mistake. The chattering continued, intercepted with muffled giggles and the clear noise of shade and gossip being thrown his way. Jeongin tried to ignore them, continued to attempt to do so for another few minutes even, before the sounds of a chair being scraped back across from him drew his attention.

He looked up from his food, to see a certain blonde-haired man sitting across from him, placing his own tray (Why did he need a tray for two pieces of toast and a cup of coffee? The company had perfectly good plates for fucks sake, not that he could talk) down and running a hand through his mess of unruly curls.

“You looked like you could use some company,” Chan noted quietly, raising his mug and taking a sip of his coffee. Jeongin blinked as the elder raked his eyes across the mess hall, daring someone (Ryujin) to laugh at them. 

His eyes lingered on Jisu and Ryujin a moment longer than anyone else. The two girls remained silent.

Jeongin remained quiet for a moment, watching as his team leader and brother figure sipped at his coffee and examined something on his datapad. Beside them, Jisu and Ryujin started talking again in much quieter tones. Their whisper’s once again filled the air.

“... Hyung. I thought you’d be working?” Chan glanced up at Jeongin, holding a piece of toast halfway between his mouth and the plate. A grimace flashed across his face as he placed the piece of bread down and linked his fingers together.

“I’m… Taking the day off. Kinda need it y’know?” The younger blinked for a few moments before it hit him.

Felix had gone missing this time last year. Of course Chan would need a break to grieve.

“I… Yeah, I get you.” His hands shook as he attempted to pick up his chopsticks once again. God, Felix had been gone a year now and they’d done nothing to find him. What sort of brothers were they?

Not very good ones obviously.

As he managed to regain control of his body enough to pick up his chopsticks, Chan’s toast was placed in his mouth with a quiet crunch. An uneasy silence fell between the two of them allowing the noise of the mess hall to flood through them and sweep away their thoughts. Jeongin felt awkward. 

The silence between them felt unnatural to him, and honestly, he blamed himself for it. He should’ve been a better dongsaeng back when Felix had first disappeared and done his best to support his team. To support Chan. Instead, he’d frozen, choosing to hide away in his room rather than face the problem and only come out when the damage was already done.

This wasn’t their team. They weren’t like this.

Hyunjin should’ve been there, laughing and clinging onto Seungmin or Minho. Minho should’ve been there, teasing Jisung over some stupid thing he’d done that morning. Woojin and Seungmin should have been there. Changbin should’ve been there. Felix….

Felix shouldn’t have disappeared.

He was drowning. Drowning in this silence of his creation. 

“A-Are we… Uh… Do we have…. Is there anything we’re gonna do to commemorate him?” Jeongin’s voice felt weak. The words were too hard to get out. But he had to know. He had to. 

Chan glanced up, expression thoughtful as he stared at the boy, “Uh…. Yea. There is, we’r--” He cut himself off, a blue shine flashing over his eyes for a moment before he stood up and downed the last of his coffee.

“Listen, I’ll tell you later. Right now I have to go, Hyunjin and Minho are screaming at each other again.”  Chan sighed, taking a bite of his other slice of toast. Jeongin nodded, feeling numb now that Chan had stopped speaking.

“Tell me later?” He begged quietly, desperation creeping into his voice in a way that he hated. Hated so much. Chan paused before nodding at him reassuringly.

“Promise.” The younger released a sigh, as Chan brushed his hand over his hair and left him alone again. Alone in the mess hall of people who were gossiping about their team.

But he was used to that.

 

 

 

There were a lot of things Changbin could handle in this universe; He had been stabbed in the back more times than he could count. His body had broken down way too many times. Fuck, he’d even lived through the incident that’d cost Chan, Jisung and himself everything. Cost Jisung his eyes.

But having Minho kicking and screaming at Hyunjin. Having to _restrain_ a kicking screaming Minho, as Chan restrained a kicking screaming Hyunjin… That wasn’t high on his list of favourite things to do in the morning.

Fuck, even Chan looked about ready to backhand the pair half the time.

Neither of the two would shut up when the other became involved with them. _Ever_. Changbin’s room was located between the two of theirs as well so lucky him, he got to wake up most mornings to, surprise surprise, a screaming match between the two.

This had been going on a year. A whole year, from the day Felix vanished to now, and they still hadn’t sorted out their shit. A _whole fucking year._   If anything, the whole thing was just draining.

“Hyung, for the love of god could you just shut the fuck up? Thanks.” He snapped angrily into Minho’s ear. Alright, so…. Maybe he was a little frustrated. Honestly, it was probably about time anyway. 

 _I am going to_ _fucking_ _throw Minho off the climbing wall at this rate. I don’t care if he’s a dancer_ , His thoughts angrily swirled through him as Minho narrowed his eyes and closed his mouth. From where Chan was holding him on the other side of the room, Hyunjin burst out laughing. Changbin’s eyes flicked up to the younger.

“Something funny over there?” Hyunjin’s eyes widened, and he quickly shut his mouth, his face paling. _What’s up with him?_

Minho paused, going limp in Changbin’s arms. Fuck, he was heavy. The younger paused, exchanging a look with Chan before dragging Minho away and into his room.

The elder remained limp until they reached his room before he squirmed in Changbin’s arms to try and escape him.

“Hyung.” Minho’s head jerked up, shaking off whatever was going on in his head. “You alright Hyung?” 

The dancer nodded, dropping himself onto his bed in a manner that was so unlike him.

“It’s been a year.” He paused to swallow, “He’s been gone a year and no one’s found anything of him. And we keep going on. Pretending we’re fine.” Minho paused again, looking up at Changbin with a mournful expression gracing his face. 

“We’re not fine. Channie hyung is overworking himself -- you can see it in his stance-- Woojin is never around anymore. Me and hyunjin…. We’ve been having these problems since day one. Jisung hasn’t come out of their lab at all over the past week for anything other than sleeping or eating. Seungmin is always training, all day every day, trying to get better in a way he doesn’t need to. And fuck, your just snappish now. Some of us can barely talk to you, _I_ can barely talk to you for more than five minutes without you snapping for something we’ve done.”

Changbin paused for a moment to take in the words. It was true he supposed. He couldn't remember the last time he’d just spoken to Minho without getting annoyed at him for doing something stupid. He had no defence for it either.

“Oh.” Minho raised an eyebrow, staring at Changbin with a frown.

“That’s it? Just ‘Oh’?” Changbin nodded, avoiding the elder’s gaze. That was it. He had nothing else to say.

Minho sighed before motioning for him to leave the room. He bit the inside of his lip, hesitantly nodding and leaving the elder’s room. 

Outside the room, Chan was finally letting Hyunjin go. The door slid shut behind Changbin as he quietly watched the exchange between Hyunjin, all teary-eyed and sobs threatening to escape his mouth, and Chan with his sad smile and understanding nods. He watched as Chan hugged the youngest in the room before they separated, Hyunjin heading to the mess hall by the looks of things.

The moment Hyunjin was out of the room Changbin watched as Chan sagged against the wall and sighed. Changbin cast him a worried glance, eyebrows furrowing. After a moment, he watched Chan stand up straight and take a deep breath.

“What happened between them this time?” Changbin asked. Chan shrugged, a frown passing over his features. A moment passed before he said anything.

“No clue.” Changbin groaned in annoyance, bringing his hands up to rub at his eyes.

“Not again.”

 

 

 

 _“Can Captain Bang please report to the Major’s office? I repeat, can…”_  A cold robotic voice announced over the intercom, distracting Chan. He looked up from the report he was reading as surprise washed over him, the Major wanted him? He must’ve heard wrong. A moment passed where he did nothing before an alert flashed up on his datascreen followed by the announcement repeating itself. Alright, so that hadn’t been fake.

 _That’s a little frustrating. And anyway, f_ _or a society so technologically developed, why do we even need intercoms anymore?_ He wondered, placing the report down on the table and sending the alert away. With a quiet groan, he stood, casting a longing glance at the report and the messy English handwriting filling him with a sense of nostalgia.

It made sense, it was one of Felix's old reports after all. He wasn’t even sure why he had been reading it in the first place. It wasn’t particularly interesting, just the rundown of one of his first missions, how he’d been with Hyunjin and almost shot Jisung when he’d ran in front of him.

It was funnier at the time. Well, kinda. After the panic of Jisung almost getting shot passed. Chan stood up, pushing the chair back into the desk with a quiet sigh.

His boss wanted to see him after all.

He hesitated for a moment after he stood up before he left the desk and exited the room. The hallway before him was empty. Strange for where he was in the barracks. But he supposed it made sense considering the day and how his team were. His team’s quarters were normally much more lively after all.

 _It’s empty_ , He noted, as he walked through the halls, casting a glance into Hyunjin’s room as he passed the open door. The boy seemed to be holding his head in his hands, muttering to himself.

Chan wanted to linger, to go in and make sure he was alright. But he couldn’t. Not at that moment. God, why couldn’t he just be there when his team needed him? He tore himself away, turning to jog down the hall and out of the barracks with a frustrated noise. 

Compared to the light coloured walls of his teams quarters, the rest of the site was quite drab. Light grey walls that stretched for meters, only interjected by pale blue lights or doors. Even then those were far and in between, often sealed closed by someone else’s key card or code.

He was tired of the colour grey honestly. It was just… Depressing, at this point at least. 

 

 

The doors to Park Jinyoung’s (the elder one not the younger)  office opened quietly, allowing Chan entrance to the room with little fuss. The room itself, unlike the rest of the building he’d passed through, was brightly coloured and warmly decorated. Warm red rugs decorated the floor upon one of which a cat was sleeping on.

Behind a great oaken desk sat Park Jinyoung himself, reading through reports with a frown. The man looked up as Chan opened the door and his face split into a pleasant smile, which wasn’t actually the most pleasant to look at. 

Years of fighting had garnered the man many battle scars, including one which twisted from his chin through his lip and up to his ear.

“Captain Bang, good good. Please, sit.”  Chan bowed, warily watching the man as he slowly sat himself down in the chair opposite Jinyoung’s desk. The man in front of him hummed in a pleased tone.

“Now, Captain, I know this is a bad time but...  I have a mission for you and your team.” Chan froze, a mission? Today of all days?

“Sir, with all due respect I do--” 

“I am aware. That’s why it’s not a priority yet. You and your team have a week before it becomes urgent. Give or take a few days.” Chan gritted his teeth as the man cut him off. A mission would mean condensing Hyunjin and Minho in a small amount of space for several hours. A painful several hours that Chan really didn’t want to deal with. Even so, he couldn’t just deny the mission. 

His team needed it anyway. The man sighed, rubbing the heels of his palms into his eyes.

“What do you need us to do Sir?” Jinyoung smiled, interlacing his fingers together and leaning forward over the desk.

“There’s been stories from the 4th quadrant of someone causing trouble in one of the outer rings there. Your mission is to investigate and if needed, eliminate any threats.” Elimination? Chan frowned, that on its own would mean organising teams.

The thought ran through his head quickly. Hyunjin and Minho would have to be separated, Jeongin was weaker in his dancer rank than songstress. Jisung needed to have someone with him that wasn’t Hyunjin or Minho, and shouldn’t be Changbin. Changbin was a bit too… Uncaring at times.

“Do we have any reports on this at all Sir, or we going  in blind?” His eyebrows furrowed. Chan watched as Jinyoung sighed, before shaking his head.

“As I said before, stories. I would send any other team, but… If I get any more reports of your team being too  loud, I’m going to shoot someone.” Chan winced. God damn it, Hyunijn and Minho. He was probably going to have to shoot the pair himself at this rate.

“That’s going to be annoying Sir, but I’ll see what we can do.” He nodded once, waiting for the waved dismissal that came soon after.

“Good. Oh and Chan? Good luck.” Chan smiled gratefully as he stood and turned for the door. Leaving, he twisted and offered up a quiet reply.

“Thank you, sir.” The door closed behind him with a click,  leaving chan to lean on a nearby wall and slump in exhaustion. A moment passed before he stood up and connected a line to Woojin. The quiet that met him in the moments before Woojin picked up lasted him until he passed the next door.

“ _Channie?_ ” The elder’s voice was quiet, sleep ridden. Chan felt guilty for a moment, realising he must have woken Woojin up when he really needs as much sleep as he can get. But that’s before he remembered he needed someone to round up the horde.

“Sorry Hyung. You were asleep?” He doesn’t need to ask really, it’s just a formality. There was a yawn on the other end before a quiet ‘no’ reached his ears. Chan smiled bitterly at the blatant lie. What a Woojin thing to be doing. 

“Sorry. Um, Anyway, I need you to collect together the boys. We have a mission. Yes, I will explain, but… Just… Separate the problem children please?” There was a sigh and the rustling of sheets. Chan winced again.

“Alright Channie. Want me to partner them up?”

Chan thought about this for a moment, as he strode through the grey halls.

“Pair up Minho with Jeongin and Hyunjin with Jisung. That should solve a couple problems.” He responded after a moment.  There was a quiet affirmation.

“That all?” 

“Yes, thank you hyung.”  Woojin sighed before the sound of a hilt being attached to its port reached his ears.

“You’re lucky we love you so much Chan.” 

 

 

 

 

It was loud. The was filled with the various chatterings of seven different boys and the one sitting by himself quietly. Hyunjin hated the loud. 

Ironic for someone who argued so often he supposed, but it was different them. It was him creating the noise then.

He guessed he was luckier in that moment that everyone was quieter than the time Taeyong’s team had visited. It had been too loud back then, forcing him to wear his headphones the whole night. The boy frowned, perching forwards in his seat as he watched Minho and Changbin talk in a slightly quieter voice than the rest of them, neither of them picking up on the little things he did.

Changbin was tired, grouchy. He just wanted to sleep through this trip. Minho was the opposite. He was awake, excited. As if this excursion was a chance for him to use up pent up energy. Hyunjin didn’t like it. He pulled his knees up to his chest, searching in his bag for his headphones.

Chan sent him a worried glance from nearby. Was he okay? Was the noise too much for him?

Hyunjin looked up, catching Chan’s eye and smiling brightly. Chan was convinced, Hyunjin could tell, but he smiled back before he returned back to his book and conversation. He sighed, finally finding his headphones and covering his ears with them. Instantly, everything was quiet. While not a perfect solution, it was the best they had just yet. 

He sighed, leaning back. It was a nice change, the quiet, he noted again as he let his eyes slip closed.

He was shaken awake after what barely felt like a moment, Jisung’s face appearing in his field of view. Hyunjin groaned, pulling his headphones down to his neck before he reached for Jisung’s hand. The noise attacked him the moment he did.

“We’re here now Jinnie. It’s time to wake up.” Jisung chirped at him. Hyunjin let out another groan, removing himself from his seat and stretching. There were some clicks in his spine before he reached down to grab his bag and hilt. The hilt itself had been recoloured (Jeongin’s idea, in memory of Felix he said) and now shimmered a lilac at his touch.

It felt safe to him. Safe, like coming home to his mother felt. Jisung coughed from beside him.

“Can we go? Channie hyung is waiting, man.” Hyunjin sighed and clicked his hilt into it’s designated place. At the click Jisung’s head jerked in the direction of the noise before Hyunjin reached out a hand to him and waited as the boy grabbed a hold of it. “Thank you Jinnie.” Jisung’s voice was grounding, reminding him to be careful as he lead the boy out of the ship.

Outside the ship… Hyunjin frowned, looking around and taking the bustling sounds and cityscape. The buildings around them all rose in graceful curves with tinted windows that blocked the harsh sun. And as Hyunjin exited the ship he saw the blue coverings that spiralled throughout the city. He turned to look for Chan, a frown on his face as he spotted the elder.

“No one told me we were coming here.” He whispered, clutching tightly onto Jisung’s hand. Chan sighed, whispering an apology as Hyunjin sighed, breathing in the air of his home planet before he looked down.

 _Just what I wanted, to redye my already dead hair,_  He thought numbly, rolling his shoulders and letting Jisung’s hand go.

“Can we just hurry up then. This sun isn’t good for us.” There’s a collective noise of agreement from the boys amongst the general chatter and noise of his world. He takes this to mean as they’re already beginning to feel the sun. He sighs, jumping as someone (Chan) grabs his hand and someone else takes Jisung.

“Sorry that I didn’t warn you earlier. I didn’t even find out until we landed either if it helps.” Hyunjin groaned again.

“Aren’t they meant to warn us about these things Hyung?” It wasn’t a big deal. It was fine. Hyunjin would live, preferably without Minho’s laughter though. He shot a glare in Minho’s direction before he let Chan pull him in the direction of the rest of the group.

As they made their way through the streets, Hyunjin felt himself gradually tense up as they started encountering more and more people. Eventually, the number of people in the streets started decreasing until there were few to no people around them. _It’s nice_ , he thought numbly as chan lead them into the almost empty outpost on the planet, _there’s no one around for once._  

The outpost itself was nearly empty, save for the few soldiers permanently stationed here and the desk workers who lived in the city. It was quiet, almost too easy for Hyunjin to disappear if he really wanted to.

Not that he did. 

Chan coughed, sending all of them a look.

“Meet me back here in ten minutes, we have some investigating to do tonight before I can set you free in the city.” Hyunjin frowned, blinking before he remembered. Chan had outlined their mission while they were on the ship. Maybe, just maybe, Hyunjin had been zoning out during that part of the flight.

They were looking for anything unusual on the plant, right? It made sense to him now why they were there.

Hyunjin sighed, leaving the room to follow Jeongin to the area they were sleeping during this trip. The room itself was small, but that wasn’t the problem here.

No, the problem was it was loud.

On one of the top bunks, he could see Changbin had placed his stuff, ignoring it now that he was mid-argument with Jisung. The younger seemed to want to sleep on the top bunk this time.

Hyunjin didn’t particularly care really, he just wanted the argument to stop. It was just adding to the noise really.

He cast a glance around the room, placing his belongings on a free bed before he left the room. Back in the lobby, Chan was talking to someone. He sighed, waiting a few moments as the conversation ended before he coughed to catch Chan’s attention. The blonde looked over and smiled brightly.

“Jinnie! How are you? Is it too loud?” Hyunjin shook his head, explaining in as few words as possible how his home planet was naturally quieter. Chan smiled again,  glancing at the time before replying, “That’s good then.”

Chan glanced at the time again, giving Hyunjin the opportunity to take in the information around him. A minute passed before the others started drifting into the room, starting with Jisung surprisingly. As the final boy walked in Chan clapped and went over their mission again. Hyunjin zoned out again. He seemed to be the only other person in the room who had any clear idea of what was happening.

Probably because Chan was too loud about it.

A few minutes passed before Chan tugged at his sleeve, and asked Hyunjin if he knew the way to a specific district of the city. He blanked out for a moment before he nodded. That area was about half an hour away if memory served him right.

Maybe?

 

 

 

The district turned out to be closer to forty-five minutes away, but could anyone really blame hyunjin for not knowing exactly? No. As the went through the district though, the buildings started deteriorating in stability and upkeep to the point where he could barely recognize some of them. He wasn’t sure how the skyscrapers had become rubble so quick.

He didn’t like it.

“Yah, Hyunjin, You sure you’re leading us in the right direction. This area looks destroyed.” Changbin called to him, a scuffle in the ground letting the boy know that the elder had stopped moving. Hyunjin paused, twisting around to look at the ruins around them. 

To look at the broken walkways and the lights that glittered off shards. He took a hesitant step back, wincing at the glass crunching under his feet.

“I.. I don’t know. What happened here?” His voice was quiet as he glanced to Chan for answers. The elder just shook his head.

“I have no idea. All I have is the rumours going around this area. Apparently some kind of soldier from an unknown company? Anyway, this guy has been causing trouble but no actual official records.”  There was a mumble of slight unease within the group.

“Alright then, how has this not actually been reported then?” Minho called from the back of the group and for once Hyunjin had to agree with the man. Why was this the first he’d heard of this? How had a disaster of this scale gone unreported? Why hadn’t his parents told him?

“Listen, I have no clue. I promise. This is the sorta stuff that should’ve been.” Chan soothed, pressing a hand into his head. Hyunjin frowned, pulling up his datascreen to check his messages. A moment passed him by where he tapped the screen until he reached them and frowned. The last time his parents had messaged him had been several weeks ago, which of itself was alarming.

Hyunjin’s parents weren’t the type to just vanish on him with no explanation. It was weird and he didn’t like it.

The world around him went silent. Hyunjin panicked.

He twisted, glancing at Chan frantically.

“Hyung! Please tell me I’m not crazy, and that it’s not quite, please!” He begged, watching as Chan tilted his head in confusion for a moment before letting his mouth open in realisation. He blinked uselessly at Hyunjin. The younger bit his lip, turning to the next person,  Minho. The man raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin curiously.

“I don’t know what quiet is Hyunjin.” He noted. Hyunjin whimpered taking a step back and dropping to his knees to clutch at his head. No, no no.

His knees hit the ground with a quiet thump as he stared blankly at the ground. Quiet. He wasn’t used to the quiet. Feet were moving around and someone shook him roughly. The noise returned for a moment before it fell quiet again. He whimpered again, allowing himself to be drug to his feet and pulled into a rough hug.

“It’ll be fine Jinnie,” Jisung whispered to him.

It was to quiet. He could still physically hear evidently but… The noise was still missing. It would've been nice had he chosen for the noise to be missing of his own accord.

A click sounded through the air, followed by a surprised whimper, this time not from Hyunjin. He flinched, reaching for someone’s hand. His hand wrapped around Minho’s wrist but the man didn’t try to shake him off, instead staring blankly at the back of their party.

“Move any closer, and I’ll make sure your party takes some loses.” A cold voice sounded out, drawing Hyunjin’s attention to where Woojin and Chan had started moving, hands on hilts. The voice itself was strangely familiar and kind of baritone.  Hyunjin glanced away from his hyungs to look up and swallowed sharply.

Quiet whimpers were escaping Jeongin’s lips as he struggled against the arms holding him with a handgun pressed against his head. That wasn’t what Hyunjin was looking at, no.

Hyunjin was looking at Felix and his cold expression.

“Am I clear?” The freckled boy called out to them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took me way too long to write and edit bc ahah im a slow writer um this is cross posted on my tumblr as well and hnng this has been proofread a total of once so if theres any like big mistakes i havent caught,,,,


	3. Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hell, he wasn't even sure who this Lee Felix was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im like, 900% sure i missed some typos bc grammarly doesnt like my writing style apparently so wew

Shock blew through his system.

Why ? Why this of all the things life had to throw at them? Why did it have to be Felix holding the gun to Jeongin’s head? Who thought this would ever be okay ?

This wouldn’t be okay, no one would be okay with this. Woojin could already see it.

From where he stood, the man could see Jeongin struggling against Felix, trying to force himself out of the other’s arms , t rying to force the elder’s arms away from his neck.  Woojin could see h e was struggling.

Worry filled his veins as Felix cocked his gun, an eyebrow raising on his head as it was pressed harsher into Jeongin’s temple.

“Well?” Woojin  averted his eyes, looking to the younger in worry, as Chan sighed and ordered them to stand down. No. No ! How could he do that?

Their youngest was in danger  \- literally had a gun to his head - and Chan was making them stand down? There was a scoff, drawing Woojin’s attention once again to Felix as the ma n stared down at them in displeasure.

“Good boy . Now, How about y ou tell me who sent you here and baby over here doesn’t get hurt. Understood?” Woojin glanced at Chan again, silently begging. He couldn’t bear to lose another member after all.

Chan gritted his teeth as Woojin watched before he slowly opened his mouth with a sigh.

“We were sent here by Major Park Jinyoung.” He muttered  angrily. Woojin glanced away, casting his eyes to the ground with a quiet sigh before he glanced up to notice Minho looking around cautiously.

The younger  caught  his eye and paled, before shaking his head. To say Woojin was confused was the least of it. It wasn’t as if Minho had any way of stopping Jeongin from getting shot.

Did he?

Woojin glanced away, looking to Chan for help.

“‘Course you did.  Companies  can’t stay out of other people’s business can they?” Woojin’s eyes flickered back to Felix with a frown. The blonde was standing in a more relaxed position now, like he knew he had the win here.

One hip was cocked and the gun was relaxed slightly.

“Whatever, I just need you guy s gone. You’re just going to get in the way.” There was a whimper of ‘Felix’ from someone around him, Jisung or Jeongin he thought. Felix’s eyes narrowed, his stance changing.

Woojin swallowed, glancing around again, looking around for Ji-- Wait.

Where was Minho?

Quiet footsteps sounded next to him, the sounds of quiet breaths next to his ear and the feeling of a warm body hugging him. Before it left him. Beside him, he saw Jisung react, a hand raising to his chest to touch something in the air b efore he dropped it  looking baffled .

“What do you mean  ‘ we’re  just going to get in the way ’ ?” Jeongin whimpered quietly, barely loud enough for Woojin to hear. Felix’s grip tightened.

“None of your business.”  H e snapped. A pile of rocks moved behind Felix, pebbles scattering as if someone had kicked them. The blondes head jerked, glancing behind him to see the nothingness before returning to the front.

“You just nee--” There was the whoosh sound of a hilt changing forms and Minho appeared behind him. Literally, just out of thin air. The young man’s hilt  \- In the shape of some form of gun, Woojin actually wasn’t too sure from here - rested against Felix’s head.

“Sup.” The air froze almost. How the fuck had Minho gotten there?

“You wouldn't risk shooting me.” Felix hissed, tilting his head slightly to stare at Minho and pressing the gun further into Jeongin’s head. Minho rolled his eyes, his gaze meeting Woojin’s with a grin.

“You’re right. I won’t. Can’t say the same for anyone else though.” The elder chirped  with  a smile, lowering his hilt down to waist level, “Besides. It’s not a gun.”

The weapon pressed into the younger’s side with a sharp buzz and Felix fell to the ground, writhing. “It’s a taser.” Minho’s hilt changed form again, in a plethora of lines as he touched it to  Felix again.

Jeongin fell free of Felix’s grasp with a squeak.

“If anyone's an Athnari, now would be a good time for you to come forward about it.” Minho muttered removing his hilt to place a knee behind Felix’s shoulders as he spasmed, “Because otherwise, I’m just going to have to keep tasing him.”

A moment passed, then Hyunjin broke out of whatever stupor he was in, drawing Woojin’s attention.

“Hyung what the fuck!? You’re hurting him!” He screeched. Minho shrugged, gently pushing Jeongin in Woojin’s direction. The boy fell into the elder’s arms with a muffled whimper as Minho taped his hilt to Felix’s shoulder again.

“That’s kinda the point. He was holding a gun to Jeongin’s head in case you haven’t noticed.” Hyunjin made an aggravated noise as Minho stepped back from the now panting boy. A moment passed, with Woojin just taking in the general weirdness of the situation before anyone moved.

“Right uh, well…. That’s not what I planned at all. But this will do. Seungmin, can you uh... Fuck.” Chan pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes with a barely disguised groan.

Honestly? Chan was a living mood for Woojin right now.

“Someone just bind hi s wrists or something. Minho… Uh... Yea, talk to me about this later.” There was another sigh  from  Woojin as he went through his kit bag for bandages or something. Those could do for ropes for now he assumed. He didn’t care enough to try find anything else anyway.

A quiet laugh emanated from Minho as the younger saluted  C han with a grim smile.

“Fair enough.” Woojin frowned, quietly tying the blond on the ground up. Damn it Minho, now he was going to have to deal with an unconscious Felix for  the return trip - Not his favourite past time by far . He glanced at Chan, who’s hand was pressed against his temples as he spoke into the air.

Probably calling for backup then.  _ Great _ , exactly what Kim Woojin wanted in his life. The brown haired man tested the bonds around Felix ’s wrists carefully before nodding and standing.

That’d have to do.

  
  


His fingers ached.  But that always happened when he used it.  His fingers went numb for the duration, barely usable at times, and then feeling returned to them  \-  always in the shape of pain.

Pain like the one in his heart that told him that the boy in the holding cell of the ship wasn’t Felix any more. Appearance-wise, maybe he was Felix .

But Minho knew that no one  in  their team would  hold a gun against someone’s head .

He wasn’t sure why the others seemed to grasp that Felix wasn’t  _ their Felix _ . He was a stranger.

An Imposter.

Like the ones that his old ma--- Old Boss had given him as ‘friends’ once upon a time. The ones that reported his every mistake.

He didn’t want to think about that right now. Thinking about that only brought him problems.

Perhaps he had used the taser too long on Felix. But that wasn’t his problem. He knew how much Felix could  physically  take.  He’d trained with the boy long enough after all.

Across from him, Jeongin sat staring at Minho  with a blank expression . He’d been doing this for a while now. Just staring at Minho.

He wasn’t sure why, nor did he care. But it was a thing. If anything it was probably just over his disappearing trick a while ago anyway .

Minho didn’t feel like explaining, hell he didn’t even know why he could do it. It just… Happened.

“Hyung.” Minho hummed in response, glancing away from the window he was  looking  out of. There wasn’t anything interesting in space anyway , s eeing as though space was always the same.

The same empty night sky, time and time again. There was never anything different.

“Hyung. What was that, back on Elantra? When you vanished?” There it was, the question Minho had been dreading from Jeongin. How could he answer, when he didn’t even know the answer himself?

“What do you mean what was it?” He glanced at the younger boy, leaning back in his chair to appear more relaxed. Anything to appear more confident after all. A lazy smirk rested on his lips.

“What was it? How did you do that?” Minho tapped his lips, glancing around.

“That, my dear  Jeonginnnie, i s a trade secret.” Jeongin looked frustrated with him. But that was fine. He didn’t ask any further  at least. Minho hoped Jeongin had guessed he wasn’t sharing anymore .

He leaned back again, staring at the ceiling and listening to the low murmuring of the ship around him. He was almost dozing off when Jeongin spoke up again. Quiet, and nervous.

“Do you think Felix hyung will be alright?” Minho blinked an eye open, gazing blearily at the younger. Then he shrugged.

“Dunno. Maybe.” He couldn’t  bring himself to  crush Jeongin’s bubble  of hope . If he wanted Felix to be the actual Felix then he would move heaven and hell to make it so. He’d do anything for those boys after all.

An  alert  sounded  through  the air, warning them they were close to docking. Minho sighed, sitting forwards  in his chair again to stretch. Out the window, the docking bay came into view and with a quiet sigh, Minho resigned himself to spending more time in his room.

His fingers were still numb.

There was a  loud beeping, and the  announcement  to stay seated before the ship docked  sounded , and Minho could stand up safely. He stood, stretching his back out with a quiet sigh and glancing back at Jeongin.

“Whatever happens, I’m sure everything will be fine.”  Minho murmured.

Jeongin let out a nervous chuckle as he shrugged.

“Doesn’t mean it’s any less  painful to see him like that.” He whispered quietly. Minho nodded. He understood  after all . A door opened, with Chan appearing in the hall.

“There you two are, come on.  Time to come out .” If Minho recalled correctly, Chan had recalled them, after talking to Major Jinyoung. Apparently seeing Felix again was enough of a reason for them to go home.

Great.

He was fine with this. The dancer nodded, reaching for his bag before and stepping out into the hall past Chan. The interior of the ship was boring. Just a few rooms connected by hallways, the bridge, cargo bay and a large room that served as a general living area.

It was meant for travel, not comfort he guessed. Honestly, he could care less about it anyway.

Minho let his feet lead him out of the ship and into the docking bay. People roamed around, some condensing around other members of the team.

Jeongin was leaning on Chan when they  exited the ship  and were surrounded by Jaebum and some of his team. Really, everyone had someone with them at that moment.

He let himself disappear, sneaking away from the crowds to the door. The halls were more quiet , almost empty to be truthful. That was fine.

He let his feet  lead  him to wards the training grounds.  Then  allowed himself to become visible again. His fingers were numb.

Few people looked at him as he passed  them by, heading for the sim rooms. A hand caught his arm. He glanced back, catching Jihyo’s look with a frown.

“You should be more careful with that.” She murmured, her brows furrowing, “It hurts doesn’t it?” Minho frowned at her. What was she on about ?

She smiled ruefully at him.

“I’ve seen you, or perhaps haven’t seen you would be  a more fitting description in this regard . You need to be more careful. It  may  be a slight pain now, but it  will get much worse if you’re not cautious.” Jihyo whispered, before tilting her head at him and taking in his confused expression. A moment passed before she frowned. “You don’t understand do you?”

Minho shook his head, looking at her blankly. She sighed,  striding forwards and pulling him into one of the empty sim rooms nearby. The door locked with a click.

“Noona what are you..?” She shushed him quickly, holding a finger to her lips before vanishing. Minho froze, looking bewildered.  _ What. The fuck? _

She reappeared a moment later,  a pained expression on her face as she rubbed her wrist.

“Understand now?” His lips parted as he took a step back.

“I...Kinda? What…?” She let out a tired sigh.

“You really have no clue do you.” Minho shook his head. Pity filled Jihyo’s eyes, and Minho hated it. He’d seen that look far too many times.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled as she sighed again,  watching Minho with that pitying look .

“No no, Don’t worry about it Minho, just… Be more  cautious  with  _ that _ .” Her voice trailed off to a whisper as she placed a hand on his shoulder before  taking a step back and opening the door to leave . Leaving Minho to wonder about what exactly he’d just been through.

  
  
  
  


His body hurt. Like someone had just taken a taser to his side, which… He supposed someone had. The boy with cat eyes he thought .

He wasn’t entirely sure how that boy had gotten behind him either. Right now it wasn’t important.

He was in a chair. White, no bindings and leant back  far enough that he was practically lying down . The room around him was white also, a singular window gracing the wall behind him with a view into a fake sky. The room was empty, save for the chair - bed - thing, and a screen on  a  wall adjacent to the window displaying medical info.

There were two air vents  (Far too small for him to crawl through  he noted) and the window was probably a screen  set into a wall  with a backing of space of some description .

The door was locked, he’d checked that earlier when he’d first woken.  There was no way to escape that the boy could think of, with his oh so scrambled brain, that wouldn’t result in him dying.

So he lay in the chair - bed - thing watching the medical screen  with a bored expression .

It had info he already knew; his age, height, blood type weight and all that crap. But where the normal code the company used for him  (O r the nickname he was often given ) usually was, was instead an actual name. It was weird, to see something of than LFD900 on data.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure who Lee Felix was.

It was familiar somehow, but he  didn’t have a clue  how  though . A lot of things had been like that recently.

The region of Elantra he’d been in, that had been familiar. Along with the group of boy’s, soldiers he supposed,  ( he didn’t care at this point .) that had captured him.

That was  rather ironic really, r unning away from one company, just to get captured by another.  The boy  sighed, glancing at the door with a frown. He supposed being isolated inside a room was much better than being continually lied to by his superiors.

The door  let out a beep rather suddenly before it slid  open. He sat up straight, watching as a tired looking young man, the leader of the group from before, entered the room with a slight bow to someone outside. The man smiled at him a moment later .

“Hey. Been a while, hasn’t it Lix?” The boy tilted his head, staring blankly at the blonde man in front of him as he stared at him expectantly. The boy raised an eyebrow after a moment, expecting the man to carry on with an explanation or a sike . He frowned when nothing more was said, as instead, the  man’s smile fell away.

“Felix?” There was that name again. The strangely familiar one, that he was sure meant something to someone, or to him. He just couldn’t place how.

“I don’t know who this Felix is. I think you have the wrong person.” He responded curtly. The man’s face fell again.

“But that’s…? Felix what, this joke isn’t funny.” The boy raised an eyebrow at the man’s insistence. It was honestly kind of pathetic.

“If I were joking you’d be able to tell. Whoever this Felix person is, they clearly mean a lot to you, but that’s not me.” The man’s face fell.

“Then… What’s your name?” The boy shrugged.

“Don’t have one. People just called me Freckles or Nines instead.” He didn’t explain why. He didn’t need to after all. The man frowned before glancing at the screen in front of Felix.

“I know you don’t think you’re Felix, but… We don’t manually fill those in. Those come from a database.” The boy squinted at him. This man was  just  trying to fuck with him, wasn’t he?

“So?” The man sighed  at the boy’s insistence , motioning for him to follow the man as he opened the door again.  The boy rose from the chair quickly.

They left the room into a dull corridor, setting off a sense of Deja vu as  the boy  looked around. He’d been here before?  He couldn’t have been.  The boy was lead maybe ten meters to another door, which opened  at their approach .

Inside the second room was much the same as the one The boy had just been in, save…. The screen was empty. It didn’t change as they walked in, only offering out a DNA scanner from the base as the man approached it. He sighed, placing a hand on it and wincing.

The screen flickered for a moment before the display changed. Age, Height, blood type , all the usual stuff . The name  labeling  the info was Bang Chan. So at least the boy had a name to give the man  now .

“See what I mean?” The boy furrowed his eyebrows, motioning for Bang Chan to move aside and give him a try. The man stepped aside with a shrug, as if he was saying ‘if you want’. The boy nodded to himself.

He’d prove Bang Chan wrong. He wasn’t Felix after all (He ignored the little voice in his head that asked him, what if?).  With a deep breath, he placed  his hand on the scanner, barely hissing when the machine took a sample of his flesh, as he watched the screen.

It flickered, then began to fill  itself  out. Age, height, blood type, weight and all. Then that name again. Lee Felix was back on the screen.

Fuck.

He took a step back from the screen, examining it with a frown.

“Do… You have any pictures of this Felix?” He asked Chan quietly, staring at the screen with a frown.  _ Honestly, how the fuck is that even-- _

“Yea, of course.” there was a pause before an image appeared in the air before them, projected off Bang Chan’s database.

The picture featured a blonde haired boy, along with two black haired boys and a boy with red hair. The boy ignored the other people in the picture, focusing instead on the blonde boy.

He was laughing, clearly enjoying the moment, with an arm wrapped around the tallest of the boys as he seemed to struggle to stay upright. The picture only showed the boys from the waist up, and the detailing made it clear the picture was at least a year old.

The boy squinted, examining the picture with a frown. Why wouldn’t he? In the picture was an exact replica of his face after all.

Did that really mean that he was this Felix person? He didn’t want to find out but if he could…

The boy - No, Felix, he wanted to be this Felix - took a deep breath, nodding slowly.

“Alright. Alright. I’ll believe you.” Bang Chan’s face lit up with a bright smile, offering out a hand.

“Great! And now that we’ve made that clear. My name’s Chan, and it’s uh… Good to have you back Lix.” It was so very  weird for him, even if this was strangely familiar, to be called an actual name.

He kind of liked it , wanted to keep it even.

Nines was gone, replaced by Felix. He would make sure of it.

  
  
  
  


“So what you’re telling me, if I’m hearing this right Chan, is that this boy is supposedly Felix?” Major Park Jinyoung  asked as he massaged his fingers into his temples, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. Around the table sat a few other people, seeing as they related to the problem in some way.

Jaebum, Woojin and Youngjae sat to Chan’s left and on his right sat the medical experts of other teams; Wonpil, Mina, Yuna and the younger Jinyoung. Yuna was resting her head on the table, watching Chan with a blank look.

It reminded him that the girl was only 16 still.

“Yes. I checked twice with a med room Sir,” Major Park sighed.

“Well, congratulations for finding him ,  I suppose. The next problem is what  we’re going to do with  him.” Woojin raised his hand  then, waiting until Major  Park nodded at before he spoke.

“If possible, we could try to reintroduce him into his old life. According to the medical data, he has no trauma other than a severe case of amnesia. My hypothesis is that what is affecting him is something similar to what happened to Youngjae sunbaenim.” There was a quiet whimper from Youngjae as he stiffened, looking at Jaebum in worry.

Major park frowned, leaning forward to peer at both Woojin and Chan.

“Are you certain you  and your team  could handle it?” Chan paused before glancing at Jaebum, Youngjae and Jinyoung all in turn.

“I believe so Sir.” The Major frowned once more before nodding.

“ Very well . If this goes badly you are aware that you’re responsible, no?” Chan and Woojin nodded, eliciting a sigh from the elder, “Fine. I’ll allow this. On the condition that you check in with Jaebum and the rest of his team weekly  to keep track of his rehab .”


	4. (not a chpater whoops)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a note on recent events

so, i generally hate when these are in books bc i hate breaking up the flow of things but whatever

 

so, the news of woojin. if im being honest i honestly dont want it to be true, hell im half expecting to wake up tomorrow and this is all a bad dream but ahah

 

yea.

 

anyway. Woojin.

storywise, yea i'm keeping him, fucking fight me one this. im just not sure what ill do with future him. that setence didnt make sense. whatever ive been cring all afternoon

 

its just.. gonna make this story even slower as i try and figure out how to deal with this. ahaha.

 

im sure you're seeing a bunch of writers saying that right now. sorry

**Author's Note:**

> so i have nothing pre written for this but we die like fuckimg men ill u h update the tags as i go along actually


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